Britain's most callous crooks: Iron thieves hunted by police after stealing two metal military memorial plaques from churchyard
Devastated parishioners have been left in tears after the plaques - which held the name of the town's 150 First World War heroes for more than 100 years - were ripped from the wooden gateway.
Thieves are said to have carried out the cruel operation under the cover of night, with locals fearing they will be melted down into scrap metal.
Jonathan Pout, the head gardener of Christ Church Luton, in Chatham, Kent, was horrified to discover the bare spaces on Saturday, May 24.
Now the church is offering a £500 reward for information which leads to their return.
A spokesperson for the church said: 'We are beyond sad to announce that our first world war memorials have been stolen from the lychgate.
'For over a hundred years these have been in place, honouring those from this area who gave everything for us to be free.
'If anyone knows anything about this desecration, please do contact us.'
They added: 'We have very kindly been offered £500 as a reward for information given which leads to the retrieval of our memorial plaques.'
Devastated parishioners have been left in tears after the plaques - which held the name of the town's 150 First World War heroes for more than 100 years - were ripped from the wooden gateway
Reverend Andrea Leonard, 65, who has headed up the church since 2015, said the plaques had been taken under the cover of darkness on Friday night.
The plaques were secured to the walls with security bolts - leading Reverend Leonard to believe they were stolen by someone who knew what they were doing, as opposed to opportunists.
She said: 'There were definitely tears. It's part of the church, it's part of the community, and in a way it's part of people's relatives.
'People say 'oh my great uncle was on that list', and people recognise the names on there.
'If the church had been broken into and a computer stolen I'd have said 'oh, we can get another one'.
'But this is desecration. It's horrible. The fact that someone can have that lack of respect for people that gave everything for us to be free is just shocking.'
Following a donation, the church is offering a £500 reward for any information which could lead to recovery of the memorials, which immortalised the names of over 150 army and navy soldiers.
Failing recovery, Reverend Leonard says the plaques will be replaced with replicas made of less valuable materials.
She said: 'Because we're a military area, we've already had veterans' associations saying that they would help us with fundraising to make replacements that are not worth stealing, made of something different.
'We've got enough photographs as well to have all the names, so that's not going to be an issue, I don't think.'
The reverend now believes the plaques are going to be used for scrap metal, and may already be destroyed.
She added: 'Initially, after the shock had settled in, people were very angry. The whole community is very angry as well.
'But, as a Christian community we have to respond in a different way - we don't want to make a lynch mob to go out and find someone.
'We've got to work on committing that person to justice. We want to see justice done, but we don't want to be vindictive.'
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